For the first time ever, a part of Vietnam is introduced to the United States of America through a live footage of En and Son Doong Cave by the network giant ABC in its popular program “Good Morning America.” The historic broadcast took place on May 13, 2015, 6:00 p.m. Vietnam time or May 12, 2015, Eastern Standard Time in the U.S.A. The two caves, located at Phong Nha – Ke Bang in Quang Binh Province in Central Vietnam are World Natural Heritage Sites.

The live broadcast took two months to prepare and two hours to air live. The famous reporter Ginger Renee Colonomo hosted the show. A crew of 12 which was divided into four groups: cameramen; aerial camera; lighting; and satellite technical, worked on the whole production, but with some help from the local people because of some challenges along the way. 150 cases of equipment, including aerial cameras and ten generators from London and the United States had to be moved, and so 150 strong local men also were asked to assist. 100 other local people supported the whole production.

The broadcast opened with the footsteps of reporter Colonomo. Son Doong Cave was then slowly introduced to America with its breathtaking fossils, tropical forests, white sand grounds and unique system of plants. En Cave, the world’s biggest cave, showed off its beauty with its amazing stalactites, swallows, underground river and limestone mountains dating back two millions years ago. In fact, the cave is so big that two Boeing 747s could fit into it as well as an 80-storey building. 

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam appeared on the show as a special guest, taking pride in his country’s “socio-economic strategy and sustainable tourism development” in contributing to the economic progress of its people and the whole nation in general. The prime minister also stressed Vietnam’s culture and history; natural landscapes and hospitality of its people as crucial factors in the continuing success of its tourism sector. 

ABC invested $380,000 in this program while Oxalis Ltd., a logistic service, contributed $85,000. The reporter, crew and even the local people who helped in the whole production experienced extreme challenges in the whole process. They had to walk several days to reach the caves, crossing through jungles, not to mention having great difficulty in trying to access some areas and so they had to use their aerial cameras just to get a good shot. 

But all the hard work paid off as the program received an outstanding success. Just hours after the broadcast, the Facebook page of ABC News garnered almost 10,000 Likes and hundreds of comments praising the caves and the show in general, even from celebrities. No less than one of basketball’s greats LeBron James posted on Twitter that the program was “unbelievable.” 

This is indeed a unique and major opportunity for Vietnam to be introduced to America and to the world in general, with the hope that tourism development will be balanced with preservation of nature.